New Delhi, Sept 10 :
Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC) chairman Sajjad Gani Lone on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologise to the people of Kashmir and adopt an “Indian-ness” policy to
“PM should apologise
bring them into the mainstream. In an exclusive interview with ANI, Lone stated that the BJP’s current approach in Kashmir is counterproductive. “The problem is that the BJP has a BJP policy in Kashmir. Through that BJP policy, they get votes across the country but they don’t have an India policy in Kashmir, for Indian-ness to get Kashmiris into the mainstream,” he said.
When asked what the BJP could do to address this issue, Lone emphasised the importance of an apology from the Prime Minister.
“The Prime Minister should apologise to the people of Kashmir and say that inadvertently, maybe, we might have done things that might have humiliated you. We might have done things that might have hurt you. We did it unintentionally. He should assure them that they are an integral part of India, it would make a significant difference. Give us another chance. And I’m telling you, if you (PM) use these words, everything will be fine. What you need are words,” he said.
Regarding the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, Lone clarified that it can only be achieved through parliamentary action.
“See, statehood can only be restored by the Parliament. We can’t. And I think there should be a policy for all the people who are elected that beyond a certain time, if they don’t give us state back, then we should stop. We should leave the assembly. There is no point in being a part of an assembly, which is humiliation. I think one year or two years or six months or three months after that, we should all en masse resign and leave,” Sajjad Lone said.
He further pushed his demand to restore statehood and warned that if the Centre fails to meet their demands, they will not be a part of this assembly.
“This will be our political response; that’s fine if you don’t want to give us; we don’t want to be a part of this assembly. Because this will make people think that we are not delivering. That I think we should not do. We should not betray our people beyond a certain time. If we don’t get statehood, there should be a clear unanimity that we should then leave. This is what I believe,” he added.
The JKPC chief also highlighted the importance of statehood for economic development in Kashmir.
“We can only work towards an economic Kashmir if we have statehood, because without it, there is very little you can do. You can’t pass money bills; you can’t pass anything,” he said.
In August 2019, the government of India abrogated Article 370, effectively ending J-K’s special status and reorganising into two Union Territories (UTs) — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC) chairman Sajad Gani Lone on Tuesday said that the ‘Azadi’ sentiments in Jammu and Kashmir are not over and have “gone underground,” adding that as Kashmiris, they can feel it.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, when asked, is the Azadi concept over?, the JKPC chairperson said, “No, I don’t think it’s totally over. It’s gone underground, but it’s scared. It was going until you came with a muscular policy. It was going to go away. It’s going to fade for all time to come. Muscularity has given it a longer lease of life. But in invisible ways of life. It is there, but you can’t see it. But we can feel it as Kashmiris. It’s somewhere there. As politicians, we know it’s… The tone of my interview should tell you that there is a problem.”
Asked whether he thinks it is ‘fragile peace’ in Jammu and Kashmir, Lone said that “it seems so.”
“It didn’t seem so before. But now I think it is. Before my defeat, I thought it was eternal. The defeat I had in the elections in parliament. So I think, after that, to be very honest, I do want my field. I just hope it’s total peace for all,” he added.
When asked whether the defeat in the Lok Sabha polls 2024 affected him badly, Lone said, “No, it’s not hit me badly. People have expressed. It was a vote against Delhi. It was a vote against the BJP.”
Sajad Lone fought the election from his home constituency, Baramulla, securing 173,239 votes. The election was won by independent engineer Sheikh Abdur Rashid after defeating his nearest rival, former chief minister Omar Abdullah, by a margin of over 2.04 lakh votes.
In the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, Sajad Gani Lone will contest the polls from the two seats in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. He will fight the elections from Handwara and Kupwara assembly constituencies.
The assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases: September 18, September 25, and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.
